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Practice Areas » Discrimination » Age

Hawaii law protects both younger and older workers from age discrimination. Under federal law it is illegal to discriminate against someone because of their age if they are over 40. Hawaii law protects people of all ages from being discriminated against by their employer because of their age.

The usual age discrimination case arises because someone is not hired or is terminated because of their age. Our firm has represented numerous age-discrimination victims. Contact our office if you feel you have been treated unlawfully by an employer because of your age. We often work on a contingency-fee basis.

Age is considered a "protected classification". Age is something that cannot be changed by an employee's hard work or effort. If an employer is prejudiced against an employee because of their age (i.e. "judges a book by its cover"), that is illegal.

Hawaii Law on Age Discrimination

Hawaii law specifically discriminates and prohibits discrimination because of age, HRS §378-2 provides:

Discriminatory practices made unlawful; offenses defined. It shall be an unlawful discriminatory practice:

• Because of race, sex, sexual orientation, age, religion, color, ancestry, disability, marital status, or arrest and court record:
• For any employer to refuse to hire or employ or to bar or discharge from employment, or otherwise to discriminate against any individual in compensation or in the terms, conditions, or privileges of employment;

Examples of Age Discrimination

Age discrimination is prohibited concerning any "term or condition" of employment. Examples of illegal age discrimination include:

1. Not hiring someone because of their age.
2. Selecting someone for termination because of their age.
3. The employer compensates younger employees with less skill and experience at a higher level than the older employees with more skill and experience.
4. A boss gives an older employee underserved poor performance evaluations and then uses these false records of poor performance to fire or demote the employee.
5. An employer will not let an older worker take a training course or otherwise invest in the worker’s further growth.
6. A company refuses to hire anyone who looks older than a certain age, simply to maintain a youthful company image.
7. Management turns down an older employee for promotion, instead hiring someone younger for the position.
8. The employer is removing older employees and replacing them with younger employees.
9. Making demeaning comments about a worker because of their age – things like calling someone "old man" or remarks like “you can't teach old dogs new tricks”.